Sjogren’s syndrome: tryptophan and GABA for anxiety, and moisturizing for dry skin and inflammation?

A few weeks ago I blogged about a new pilot study about the use of a skin moisturizer twice a day reduced inflammation in older adults. I use the inflammation research to question if this may be applicable and helpful for you if you suffer from anxiety, extrapolating that it may well be given the added benefits of touch and an oxytocin boost.

I received a number of great questions about how to apply this information and have decided to share a question from someone with both Sjogren’s syndrome and anxiety, in order to illustrate how I’d work with someone like this.

Here is the question I received:

I would like to know how much of one’s body needs to be moisturized, and if it is also necessary to be done twice per day? Such a simple but effective way to help with anxiety. Will be slathering a lot more in the future! I have Sjogren’s so everything is dry – skin, mouth, eyes, hair. I have been trying to keep my face much “moister” and I am sure my wrinkles have lessened. I find rice bran oil is also quite good.

I’m going to address her moisturizing question below and share more about anxiety in Sjogren’s syndrome and some nutritional solutions, but first let me explain what Sjogren’s syndrome is.

An overview of Sjogren’s syndrome

Let me explain what Sjogren’s (SHOW-grins) is in case you’re not familiar with this condition. It’s an autoimmune condition and is described as follows on the Mayo Clinic site:

often accompanies other immune system disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. In Sjogren’s syndrome, the mucous membranes and moisture-secreting glands of your eyes and mouth are usually affected first — resulting in decreased tears and saliva.

Although you can develop Sjogren’s syndrome at any age, most people are older than 40 at the time of diagnosis. The condition is much more common in women.

The site goes on to say that other than dry eyes and mouth, some people experience joint pain and stiffness, swollen salivary glands, skin rashes or dry skin, vaginal dryness, persistent dry cough and prolonged fatigue. It’s worth a read to learn more about complications like more dental cavities, yeast infections, vision issues, problems in the lungs, kidneys or liver, the risk of lymphoma and peripheral neuropathy.

My feedback about moisturizing

In the study, moisturizing was done twice a day. I’m not sure how much of the body needs to be moisturized but if everything is dry, I’d want to moisturize as much as possible.

Given that chronic inflammation is a major factor in Sjogren’s and other autoimmune conditions like systemic lupus erythematosus, it’s feasible to expect similar benefits in terms of reduced inflammation. Hopefully we’ll see research on autoimmune conditions in the future.

When it comes to anxiety, I do want to make it clear that I was and still am extrapolating from the research on inflammation and measuring reduced anxiety was not part of the study. Moisturizing may or may not help with anxiety and I certainly wouldn’t only use this intervention.

Anxiety in Sjogren’s – low serotonin and GABA?

You may not be aware that anxiety/depression is very common in Sjogren’s. In one study they

found 33.8% patients with anxiety, and 36.9% had depression, which were significantly higher than controls.

I use a comprehensive nutritional and lifestyle approach to help my clients ease their anxiety and as I mention above, I would not only rely on moisturizing.

They didn’t find a correlation between the levels of serotonin and how severe the Sjogren’s symptoms were, which falls in line with what we know about biochemical individuality and why doing a trial of tryptophan or 5-HTP (to find your ideal dose) is the best approach for serotonin support.

If you recall, in the Mayo Clinic description above, stiffness is a common symptom of Sjogren’s and GABA eases stiffness.

I haven’t found any research on GABA in Sjogren’s, but one case study reports that a patient experiencing athetoid movements (a movement dysfunction, characterized by involuntary writhing movements), reported symptom improvement with hydroxychloroquine, pilocarpine, gabapentin, and clonazepam. The latter two medications work on the GABA system.

If you recall, in the Mayo Clinic description above, joint pain and dental cavities are common symptoms. These are also very common with pyroluria, so using a nutritional approach helps ease the social anxiety, and improves joint issues and mouth health.

Sjogren’s and the Autoimmune-Paleo diet

Since Sjogren’s is an autoimmune condition, following an Autoimmune-Paleo (AIP) diet is key too. Here are some books that are well-worth making part of your library, even though they are not specific to Sjogren’s syndrome they offer support for autoimmune conditions (and many individuals often have more than one autoimmune disease)

Here is one more resource for you: The Autoimmune Masterclass which airs online this weekend It’s a similar format to online 7-day summits but runs for 2 days instead and is no-cost to attend during these two days.

I haven’t dived into the research on all the other autoimmune conditions and the above connections (low serotonin, low GABA and pyroluria) but it’s highly likely similar connections exist. So, if you have any autoimmune condition and anxiety this could all apply for you too.

If you have been diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome please share if GABA and tryptophan have helped ease your anxiety, and if the pyroluria protocol has helped you with social anxiety?

And let us know if moisturizing is helping your dry skin and possibly reducing inflammation and anxiety too?

Reader Interactions

Comments

Very interesting! I do have Sjogrens and anxiety. GABA and tryptophan do seem to help. I have not tried the moisturizing at this point. I also have pyroluria and your regimens have helped with that as well.
I love your work, Trudy. Keep up the good work. You have helped me many times.

Lorraine
Thanks for sharing and so glad to hear that GABA, tryptophan and the pyroluria protocol help! When I hear “do seem to help” it makes me think there is more work to be done because we should be able to get to the point of zero anxiety. I always make sure to adjust the amino acids up or down to find the ideal dose + tweak the pyroluria protocol

I have Sjogrens from an early age but only put name on it recently; doctors usually said, drink more water, use eye drops, put vaseline in nose. etc. I’ve found that jojoba oil, camelina oil, coconut oil most effective as moisturisers, especially overnight. Most rice bran oils are labelled cold filtered; however, they are an industrially processed oil, so be vigilant.

Frances
With both Sjogren’s and anxiety, everything in this blog post is worth considering – as a starting point – they well be more to address/consider. I have many clients who have been anxious their entire lives and can’t even begin to imagine life without anxiety but know this – anxiety can be completely eliminated.

Dana
Thanks for sharing and yes this is wonderful – the more we can share and learn from each other the better. I’m not familiar with the Smart Patients site but love the message of being empowered. Are are you affiliated with them and do they have an online forum?

Here is a link to the Smart Patients site; there are many conversation topics listed. Initially I thought it was out of the UK as there seem to be many from the UK posting. https://www.smartpatients.com

I have Sjogren’s and Fibromyalgia; was finally diagnosed in 2012. My prescription meds since then have included Plaquenil, Savella, Amitiza, Clonazepam, Gabapentin, etc. Because of you, Trudy, thank you, and a tremendous amount of research and time, I no longer take Clonazepam (I was on for five years) or Gabapentin.

I currently take Plaquenil (still) at 200 mg, twice a day, Savella, 100 mg, twice a day, Amitiza, 8 mcg. Along with 5-HTP, 200 mcg, 1 at bedtime, GABA, 500 mg, 1 at bedtime, Selenium, 200 mcg, 1 at bedtime, MAG SRT, 2 tablets twice a day, Zinc, 30 mg, 1 a day. I also have GABA Calm available and take as needed for anxiety/better sleep.

Last September, 2018, I slowly began developing crazy, obnoxious itching skin, starting in my right arm, every early evening. Over a span of several months, my skin itched everywhere. Night sweats were horrendous. I no longer slept, just naps from total exhaustion. No prescription meds or any over-the-counter remedies worked. Numerous doctors, an emergency room visit and every medical test imaginable brought my rheumatologist to prescribe Methotrexate, 2.5 mg, 6 tabs once a week, Folic Acid, 1 mg tab, once a day the other 6 days and Hydroxyzine HCL, 25 mg, 1-2 before bed. I’ve read that Methotrexate is a chemo drug (?), which obviously is concerning, but it’s working. Also, I have found that Aveeno Eczema Therapy Itch Relief Balm helps me. I apply 2-3 times a day – all over. I don’t Itch nearly as much now, but I do get a dry, burning/tight sensation, mainly on my arms and legs that drives me to apply the lotion regularly and often.

As an aside, I tried 5-HTP years ago, but stopped when it seemed to give me a dull headache. I don’t notice any now, because I wake up with a dull, sick headache every day anyway. Do I think it helps with sleep and anxiety? Yes. GABA, yes. Does moisturizing throughout the day help my anxiety? Of course I’m much calmer if my skin isn’t itching or burning/tightening, so yes, I would agree.

Julie
I’m so pleased to hear the GABA 500mg and GABA Calm helps and you were able to quit Clonazepam and Gabapentin. We know some people do better on 5-HTP and other do better on tryptophan so I have my clients switch if one isn’t working (when there are low serotonin symptoms).

With itching/skin reactions/eczema we consider dietary causes like gluten (and even topical creams that are not gluten-free), histamine reactions to high histamine foods, and also side-effects from medications. Both Plaquenil and Savella list skin reactions as possible side-effects.

Hi Trudy,
I was wondering what your recommendation would be for people who have had their ability to read and concentrate compromised by depression and anxiety. I have tried taking amino acids from your book but they did not help much unfortunately, but I ranked fairly highly for pyroluria so will probably look into zinc and b6.
Also I was wondering if you think that trying cbd oil might be worth it? I have a lot of inflammation in joints and mri’s showed white matter in my brain (which might also be inflammation) and maybe this is the reason for a lot of my distress?

Bob
CBD can be very helpful but it’s also important to address the basics such as real whole food, quality animal protein, no gluten/sugar/caffeine, eating to control blood sugar, and gut health too. An Autoimmune Paleo diet is key for inflammation so check out these books. If reading/concentration is really bad would listening to podcasts and summits be easier?

Hi Trudy,
Thank you for the reply. So I used gaba calm, 750 mg dl-phenylalynine, 500 mg tyrosine, and 1.5 g tryptophan, all from source naturals, for about a month. Additionally I took a Nature’s lab daily multivitamin which had 1000% vit b6 (pyrodoxine hcl) and 100% zinc. My symptoms did not change before and after unfortunately.
I’ve been tested for lyme, and haven’t had any head injuries ever. I’m looking at trying the p-5-p and zinc supplements to see if those possibly help. I will also do the paleo diet which you recommended.
My other symptoms are painful lymph nodes, severe fatigue, palpitations, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, extreme stress intolerance, anxiety, anhedonia, hair loss, and migraines (might be what the white matter in the mri was indicating).
I have done testing for mostly everything and they’ve all come back fine, although I still have not done endocrinological testing. Anyway thank you so much for your feedback and please let me know if there is anything else that may be in my best interest to try.

Hi Trudy, I was recently diagnosed with sjogrens but do not suffer from anxiety or pyroluria. I also have hashimotos and lost my thyroid due to papillary thyroid cancer (stage 1). I definitely suffer from dry eyes and a bit of a dry mouth. I am refusing any medical RX for now. I am on serum eye drops and restasis. I do not feel a real effect from these eye drops however my eye RX has improved due to decreased inflammation. I wish their was a magical cure. I have tried AIP, I eat clean, added reverse osmosis water to house, got rid of body chemicals ( makeup and skin/hair products), eat organic. I also take CBD for general body aches and feel it does help. If anyone out there is experiencing any relief for their dry eyes i’d Love to hear or if you have any suggestions. Dry eye , mild tiredness, and aches in feet seem to be my major issues.